After 8 hours working in illustrator, Jesse and I needed a drink!

Naturally, we called Jeff, and the drinking began. And of course a few hours in, we needed to eat. A block away from from our spot was Truly Mediterrane!

The boys felt they could stomach a huge lamb schawerma, they ordered and we went to other bar to it it and drink some more.

One bite and I was jealous I hadn’t gotten my own. I dunno, what’s in the mysterious, solid rotating structure of meat slabs, but I don’t care. That thing was awesome! Really, it was soooo excellent!

Even though I have a slight headache this morning, I remember the taste of that thing, and I want one now. I need to go back. Yes yes yes!

We didn’t have a real camera, but one of us had a phone. Here are the two pictures of that scrumptious encounter and silly night.

While Alix and Jesse were slaving away at the studio, I was procrastinating away at home, straight out chillin. On the verge of finally starting my work later in the night, I got a phone call from the two with an invitation for some dranks. Of course I went, as despite being in grad school, my priorities aren’t quite so straight. My bike was out of commission that time, so our plan was to meet somewhere around my area for some good old brews. Headed to Dalva for some delish Anchor Steams while listening to the two rant about their painfully long day at the studio leaving me feeling undeserving of having beer as well, I haven’t done anything. After a good amount of brew in our system, we naturally got the drunk munchies and headed a couple of doors away, Truly Mediterranean, which I noticed was on the list. Of course we got their Lamb Schawerma, which consists of some yummy Meditterenean spiced lamb that has been slowly rotating on a stick for hours on end, cucumbers, tabouleh, tomatoes, yogurt sauce rolled in a flatbread. Think of a giant burrito, middle eastern style. Anyways, it was an appropriate drunk food as we drunkenly devoured the whole thing in an instance and leaving us to pure drunken/satisfied stomach bliss.

Not disappointed! A mammoth wrapped concoction of pork chunks, juiciness, cilantro, cream, salsa, big beans… I have no idea what else, but we ate it all and it lifted our spirits!

Back to studio!

First day of school, no reason to pause the eating bonzana! We had a scrumptious morning with the soft, thin, buttery inside layers, and orange zest caramelized flakey outside of THE delectable buns!! yesss! yumm!

Of course we didn’t stop there, banana bread pudding (large, couldn’t resist) and a brownie, because it made me so happy to see that they use serious chocolate. Next time, I want to try the gougères (already sold out!), and a nice fat tartine with melted gruyere and a sexy slab of smoked ham !

Those morning buns look benign, but I think I’m going to start a new addiction.

This was a monumental day for us as it was our first day of grad school and I figured that stopping by Tartine bakery for their famous morning buns will be a good way to take our anxiousness away. And indeed it did. Immediately after stepping into the bakery, one couldn’t help but feel at ease with its welcoming aroma of freshly baked goods and mouth watering display of pure goodness. We each had the morning bun, in which we were fortunate to get ones that were straight from the oven. The buns were a perfect combination of having a flaky crust and soft interiors topped with a mixture of cinnamon, sugar and orange zest , but what made it stand out for me is the thick caramelized sugar sporadically spread out within the layers of the bun. Ah, so good. Tartine morning buns, I want to wake up next to you everyday for the rest of my life.

After a 30 mile bike excursion to Fort Cronkhite, we needed a major feasting time! We opted for number 62, Ton Kiang, for some serious dim sum!

We were not disappointed! The sticky rice with meat, BBQ pork buns, and pork dumplings were my favorites. But my favorite of the favorites are their warm, mini cream custard tartlets. They are BOMB!! whoa! I will be comming back here just to eat those tartlets, and to see if their other sweets are of the same caliber!

Dim Sum on an afternoon after a long bike ride? Hell yes! Whenever I’m with these tasty delights I am always a happy man. Having them right after a long bike trek on an amazing day even makes it even more glorious. We had the Dim Sum staples – siu mai, hao gao, steamed rice wrapped in grape leaves, pork buns, shrimp balls complemented by stir fried mustard greens and Singapore noodles. Although we ordered more than what we should have, we had no regrets as all were delightful. The highlight for me- the fried shrimp balls with its graceful crunchy shell that screams out architecture model! We finished off the meal with some freshly made egg custards which Alix was super stoked about. Now, we have to check out no. 63 on the list…which is a place that specializes in egg custard tarts….let the egg custard tart battle begin!!

P.S. After reading up on Dim Sum on Wikipedia, I realized that we had dim sum the OG ancient china way. Dim Sum used to be served as snacks at teahouses along the silk roads for hungry travelers. So there we were, exhausted and starved after our bike ride, being revived by the mighty dim sum at Ton Kiang!

O li la la! Gorgeous morning which seems to demand a celebration con Bloody Mary’s!! Off we go to Foreign Cinema to bask in the sun on their patio!

The Bloody Mary’s, awesome! The pork belly and cracklings (oh yes oh yes oh yes), scrumptious! The service kinda lousy, but who cares we were outside and happy!!

Oh man, this was a brunch done right- Outside on a sunny patio, bloody mary’s were at hand, a cougar was wearing a way too short of dress a table over, and the food catered by the chefs of foreign cinema! I had the egg bhaji, a well executed fusion of indian curry over a bed of thin and crispy potato hash and topped with poached eggs and avocados. Mix it all together, and BAM! you have a hell of a dish. So happy to have had such a blissful brunch; so thank you sun, the vodka in my bloody mary, and of course, foreign cinema!